Adam Cole
|birth_place = Panama City, Florida |death_date = |death_place = |resides = |billed = Panama City, Florida |trainer = Jon Dahmer DJ Hyde Al Snow Les Thatcher |debut = April 2008 |retired = }} Austin Jenkins (July 5, 1989) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Adam Cole. He competed for several independent promotions, including Combat Zone Wrestling, Maryland Championship Wrestling, Northeast Wrestling and Ring of Honor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs in their developmental territory NXT. Career Training and Combat Zone Wrestling (2008–2017) Jenkins was trained at the Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) Wrestling Academy by Jon Dahmer and DJ Hyde. He became an official student at the Academy on November 14, 2007, while he was still a senior in high school. He made his CZW debut at No Pun Intended as "Adam Cole" on June 21, 2008, when he teamed with The Reason in a loss to GNC (Joe Gacy and Alex Colon). His next appearance was on September 13 at the Chri$ Ca$h Memorial Show, when he defeated Tyler Veritas in a CZW Wrestling Academy showcase match. Cole then began to feud with GNC, facing them in several matches with different partners. On October 11, GNC and EMO defeated Cole, L.J. Cruz and HDTV in a six-man tag team match.9 At the following show, Night of Infamy 7: Greed, GNC defeated Cole and HDTV in a regular tag team match. Cole gained his first win over GNC at Cage Of Death 10: Ultraviolent Anniversary when he, Veritas, and Cruz defeated GNC and EMO in a six-man tag team match. In 2009, Cole teamed regularly with Tyler Veritas. At X: Decade of Destruction – 10th Anniversary in February, Cole and Veritas won a tag team gauntlet match, outlasting the teams of The S.A.T., L.J. Cruz and Izzy Kensington, 2.0, All Money Is Legal, and GNC. At the following show in March, they won a four-way match against the team of Jagged and Cole Calloway, GNC, and Team AnDrew (Andy Sumner and Drew Gulak). After Cole took a hiatus from CZW, he returned at A Tangled Web 2 on August 8, where he and Veritas won another four-way match against BLKOUT, Team Macktion (TJ Mack and Kirby Mack) and the Spanish Armada (L.J. Cruz and Alex Colon). At Down With The Sickness Forever, Cole and Veritas challenged for The Best Around (TJ Cannon and Bruce Maxwell) for the CZW World Tag Team Championship, but were unsuccessful. For the remainder of 2009, Cole and Veritas began focusing on singles competition, as they both entered the tournament to determine the inaugural CZW Wired TV Champion. Cole defeated Alex Colon and Rich Swann en route to the final at Cage of Death 11, where he lost to Veritas. At Walking on Pins and Needles in March 2010, Cole wrestled Sabian to a 15-minute time-limit draw.19 Later in 2010, Cole began challenging for the CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship, and on April 10, at Swinging For The Fences, Cole faced defending champion Sabian in a match that ended in a 20-minute time-limit draw. On May 8, 2010 Cole won the CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship by defeating defending champion Sabian and Ruckus in a three-way match at Fist Fight. Cole went on to successfully defend the championship against Ryan Slater in both June and August and Blk Jeez in September. At It's Always Bloody in Philadelphia on October 9, Cole turned into a heel (villainous character) by attacking long-time tag team partner Veritas. Later that night, Cole successfully defended his CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship against AR Fox. In November, Cole toured Germany with CZW, and retained his championship against Zack Sabre, Jr. at Live In Germany in Oberhausen. The following month, Cole gained Mia Yim as a manager, and she helped him to retain the Junior Heavyweight Championship in two separate matches at Cage Of Death XII. At Twelve: Anniversary in February 2011, Cole qualified for the Best of the Best X tournament by defeating Pinkie Sanchez.29 On April 9, at Best of the Best X Cole qualified for the final of the tournament by defeating Kyle O'Reilly and Johnny Gargano in a three-way match in the first round and Sabre in the semi-final. He faced Sami Callihan in the final, and was victorious, winning the Best of the Best X tournament. Cole then developed an alliance with his trainer DJ Hyde, with Hyde helping Cole to retain his championship against Fox in May. Further title defenses against Jonatham Gresham, Chuck Taylor, and AJ Curcio throughout the year. On November 12, Cole lost the CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship to Callihan despite both Hyde and Yim interfering on his behalf, ending his reign at 553 days, the longest reign in the championship's history. At An Excellent Adventure in January 2012, Cole unsuccessfully challenged Devon Moore for the CZW World Heavyweight Championship. Cole's alliance with Hyde ended at the Best of the Best 11 internet pay-per-view, when Hyde gained a new protégé in Tony Nese who Cole went on to defeat in a match.38 Cole and Hyde began feuding briefly, with Hyde attacking Cole in May, and Cole attacking Hyde the following month. In November 2012, Cole went on to feud with Sami Callihan, claiming that he would always be regarded as a better wrestler than Callihan. At Cage of Death 14: Shattered Dreams the following month, Cole defeated Callihan in a No Hold Barred match. On April 13, 2013, Cole defeated Callihan in what billed as the "final encounter" between the longtime rivals. Other Promotions (2009-2017) On August 7, 2009, Carelle defeated Qenann Creed to win the MCW Rage Television Championship. He held the championship for over four months, before losing it to Ryan McBride on December 26. After changing his ring name to Adam Cole, he regained the championship from McBride two months later on February 27, 2010. Cole held it until July 31, when he and Tyler Hilton were defeated by Cobian and Tommy Dreamer, which meant that Cobian won the championship. On November 7, 2009, Cole defeated VSK to win WXW C4's Hybrid Championship in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He lost the championship to Dave Rose on March 6, 2010, after a five-month reign. On November 20 and 21, 2009, Cole defeated four opponents (DJ Hyde, Ryan McBride, "Mighty" Quinn Nash and Eric Enders) to win Ground Breaking Wrestling's 1st annual 16-man Battle of Gettysburg tournament. With his victory, he earned a title shot against champion Greg Excellent in April 2010 but lost. Cole began competing for the Evolve promotion in 2010. In his debut match for the promotion on May 1 at Evolve 3: Rise Or Fall, he lost to Sami Callihan. At Evolve 4, Cole defeated Johnny Gargano to improve his record to one win and one loss. Following his victory he challenged Jimmy Jacobs to a match at the next show. At EVOLVE 5: Danielson vs. Sawa, Cole lost to Jacobs. Cole appeared at Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA)'s Open the Freedom Gate pay-per-view taping on November 28, 2009 on the pre-show, where he wrestled Kyle O'Reilly in a losing effort. On July 24, 2010, Cole appeared at DGUSA's Enter the Dragon 2010 pay-per-view taping in a four-way match against Chuck Taylor, Arik Cannon, and Ricochet, which was won by Taylor. On August 28, 2010, Cole appeared at Chikara's Young Lions Cup tournament. He defeated Kyle O'Reilly in the quarter-finals, but was eliminated from the semi-final (a six-man elimination match) by Obariyon. On April 30, 2011, Cole participated in East Coast Wrestling Association's 2011 Super 8 Tournament. He defeated Sami Callihan and Austin Aries en route to the final, where he lost to Tommaso Ciampa. On November 30, 2012, he won the Premiere Wrestling Xperience's Heavyweight Championship. Cole lost the title in February 2013 In the first weekend of February 2013, Cole partook in a WWE tryout at their developmental area in Florida. Ring of Honor (2009–2017) Cole made his Ring of Honor (ROH) debut on February 28, 2009, when he lost to John Kerman in a dark match at the Ring of Honor Wrestling tapings. At the Ring of Honor Wrestling tapings the following night, Cole appeared in a dark match again, teaming with Ninja Brown against John Kerman and Corey Abbott. The match ended in a no contest when the Dark City Fight Club (Kory Chavis and Jon Davis) attacked the match participants. He appeared again on the July 26, 2010, episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling, teaming with Nick Westgate in a loss to the Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli). On August 23, 2010, ROH announced that Cole had signed a contract with the company. At the August 2 tapings of Ring of Honor Wrestling, Cole was defeated by Mike Bennett. Cole began to ally himself with fellow ROH newcomer Kyle O'Reilly, with the pair forming a tag team. At the October 2 Ring of Honor Wrestling tapings they defeated the team of Grizzly Redwood and Mike Sydal. They lost to Steve Corino and Kevin Steen on October 15, and the All Night Express of Kenny King and Rhett Titus at a show on [[October 16]]. They defeated the Bravado Brothers (Harlem and Lance) on the November 8 episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling. On November 12, Cole participated in the 2010 edition of the Survival of the Fittest tournament. He defeated Steve Corino in the first round, but was the second person eliminated from the final, a six-man elimination match. The following night in Toronto, Cole and O'Reilly defeated the Bravado Brothers. Cole made his ROH pay-per-view debut on December 18 at Final Battle 2010, where he and O'Reilly were defeated by the All Night Express. On April 1 and 2 at Chapter One and Two of Honor Takes Center Stage, Cole and O'Reilly faced The Briscoe Brothers (Jay and Mark) and the Kings of Wrestling in two losing efforts, despite putting on strong performances. On July 8, Cole and O'Reilly defeated the Bravado Brothers to earn a future shot at the ROH World Tag Team Championship. On July 25, ROH announced that Cole had re-signed with the promotion. At the August 13 tapings of Ring of Honor Wrestling, the tag team of Cole and O'Reilly was named Future Shock. At the January 7, 2012, tapings of Ring of Honor Wrestling, Future Shock disbanded and Cole formed a new partnership with Eddie Edwards, opposite Kyle O'Reilly and Davey Richards. On March 4 at the 10th Anniversary Show, Cole and Edwards defeated O'Reilly and Richards in a main event tag team match, with Cole pinning Richards, the reigning ROH World Champion, for the win. On June 24 at Best in the World 2012: Hostage Crisis, Cole defeated O'Reilly in a "Hybrid Rules" match. Afterwards, Cole tried to make peace with his former partner, but the offer was turned down. On June 29, 2012, Cole won his first championship in ROH, defeating Roderick Strong to become the ROH World Television Champion in Baltimore, Maryland at a taping of Ring of Honor Wrestling. On September 15 at Death Before Dishonor X: State of Emergency, Cole successfully defended the title against Mike Mondo, before being confronted by Matt Hardy. At the following internet pay-per-view, Glory By Honor XI: The Unbreakable Hope on October 13, Cole successfully defended his title against Eddie Edwards. On December 16 at Final Battle 2012: Doomsday, Cole was defeated by Hardy in a non-title match.83 At the following iPPV, 11th Anniversary Show on March 2, 2013, Cole lost the World Television Championship to Matt Taven, ending his reign at 246 days. On May 4 at Border Wars 2013, Cole unsuccessfully challenged Jay Briscoe for the ROH World Championship. On May 30, ROH announced that Cole had re-signed with the promotion. Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (2011–2017) Cole made his debut in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) on October 22, 2011, alongside regular tag team partner O'Reilly as Future Shock, unsuccessfully challenging The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) for the PWG World Tag Team Championship. Future Shock were defeated by the RockNES Monsters (Johnny Goodtime and Johnny Yuma), at Fear on December 10. On April 21, 2012, Future Shock entered the annual Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament (DDT4), where they made it to the semifinals, before losing to the eventual tournament winners, the Super Smash Bros. (Player Uno and Stupefied). On July 21 at PWG's ninth anniversary event, Future Shock unsuccessfully challenged the Super Smash Bros. for the PWG World Tag Team Championship in a three-way ladder match, which also included The Young Bucks. On September 1, Cole entered the 2012 Battle of Los Angeles, now working under his "Panama City Playboy" heel persona. After upsetting El Generico in his first round match, Cole advanced to the following day's quarterfinals, where he defeated Eddie Edwards. After a win over Sami Callihan in the semifinals, Cole defeated Michael Elgin in the finals to win the 2012 Battle of Los Angeles and become the number one contender to the PWG World Championship. Following his win, Cole attacked the reigning champion, Kevin Steen, and left with his title belt. On December 1, Cole defeated Steen in a Guerrilla Warfare match to become the new PWG World Champion. On January 12, 2013, Cole reunited with Kyle O'Reilly to enter the 2013 Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament. After defeating the DojoBros (Eddie Edwards and Roderick Strong) in their first round match, Future Shock was eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals by El Generico and Kevin Steen. On March 23, Cole made his first successful defense of the PWG World Championship against Drake Younge. On June 15, Cole defeated longtime rival, the WWE bound Sami Callihan six falls to five in a 60-minute Iron Man match for the PWG World Championship. WWE NXT (2017-present) On August 14, 2017, multiple sources confirmed that Jenkins had officially signed with WWE and would be working in the company's developmental territory NXT. Cole made his NXT debut on August 19 at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III, attacking newly-crowned NXT Champion Drew McIntyre with Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly Personal life Cole cites Shawn Michaels as his inspiration. He enjoys scuba diving. He also has a younger brother. Jenkins is in a relationship with Pittsburgh-area women's wrestler Britt Baker. In wrestling *'Finishing moves' **Inverted DDT **''Panama's Sunrise'' (Super flip piledriver) **Shining wizard *'Signature moves' **''Cole-ateral'' (Scoop brainbuster) **''Corona Kick'' (Jumping big boot) **Diving crossbody **Enzuigiri *'Tag Teams & Stables' **Bullet Club **The Undisputed Era (w/ Bobby Fish And Kyle O'Reilly) *'Managers' **Mia Yim *'Entrance themes' **"Faithless" by Injected **"Break Anotha" by Blake Lewis **"Get Off The Stoves by The Stoves **"Something For You by David Rolfe Championships and accomplishments *'Combat Zone Wrestling' **CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **Best of the Best X 2011 *'Dreams Fighting Entertainment / World Wrestling League' **DFE Openweight Championship/WWL Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *'Eastern Wrestling Alliance' ** EWA Cruiserweight Championship (1 time) *'Ground Breaking Wrestling' **Battle of Gettysburg (2009) *'Maryland Championship Wrestling' **MCW Rage Television Championship (2 times) *'Premier Wrestling Xperience' **PWX Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *'Pro Wrestling Guerrilla' **PWG World Championship (1 time) **Battle of Los Angeles (2012) *'Pro Wrestling Illustrated' **PWI ranked him #'115' of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2011 *'Pro Wrestling World–1' **World-1 North American Championship (1 time) **Shinya Hashimoto Memorial Cup (2010) *'Real Championship Wrestling' **RCW Cruiserweight Championship (1 time) **RCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Devon Moore *'Ring of Honor' **ROH World Championship (3 times) **ROH World Television Championship (1 time) **ROH World Championship Tournament (2013) *'Wrestling Observer Newsletter' **Rookie of the Year (2010) *'WXW C4' **WXW C4 Hybrid Championship (1 time) *[[WrestleCircus|'WrestleCircus']] **WC Big Top Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Britt Baker External links * WWE.com Profile * Profile * Profile * Twitter Category:American wrestlers Category:2008 debuts Category:1989 births Category:Living people Category:Male wrestlers Category:Combat Zone Wrestling alumni Category:Pro Wrestling WORLD-1 alumni Category:Maryland Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Pro Wrestling Syndicate alumni Category:IWA Mid-South alumni Category:Ground Breaking Wrestling alumni Category:World Xtreme Wrestling alumni Category:National Wrestling Superstars alumni Category:Fight The World Wrestling alumni Category:Dragon Gate USA alumni Category:Maven Bentley Association alumni Category:Jersey All Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Westside Xtreme Wrestling alumni Category:Chikara Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Tri-State Wrestling Alliance alumni Category:Real Championship Wrestling alumni Category:EVOLVE Wrestling alumni Category:Force One Pro Wrestling alumni Category:National Wrestling Alliance alumni Category:Insanity Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Capital City Championship Combat alumni Category:IWA East Coast alumni Category:1 Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Big Japan Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Pro Wrestling Guerrilla alumni Category:All Star Wrestling alumni Category:Union Of European Wrestling Alliances alumni Category:International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom alumni Category:Northeast Wrestling alumni Category:Fight Club: PRO alumni Category:Horizon Wrestling Alliance alumni Category:International Wrestling Cartel alumni Category:East Coast Wrestling Association alumni Category:Lucha Promotora Original Pro-Lucha alumni Category:Connecticut Wrestling Entertainment alumni Category:Impact Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Premier Wrestling Xperience alumni Category:Ring Warriors alumni Category:Dreams Project alumni Category:Absolute Intense Wrestling alumni Category:Wrestling Cares Association alumni Category:Future Of Wrestling alumni Category:Carolina Wrestling Federation Mid-Atlantic alumni Category:Squared Circle Wrestling alumni Category:MCW Rage Television champions Category:Florida wrestlers Category:Empire State Wrestling alumni Category:House Of Glory alumni Category:New Horizons Pro Wrestling alumni Category:New Japan Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Premiere Wrestling Xperience alumni Category:Preston City Wrestling alumni Category:Revolution Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Tidal Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Xcite Wrestling alumni Category:ROH World Television Champions Category:ROH champions Category:What Culture Pro Wrestling alumni Category:ROH World Champions Category:WWE NXT current roster Category:World Wrestling Entertainment current roster Category:Ring of Honor alumni